1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an automobile door lock, having a metallic base plate, which, preferably, is angular and has an inlet slot for a striker, and also having lock elements, like a ratchet and a ratchet pawl, disposed at the base plate; further comprising a lock mechanism having various operating levers, as well as a one-piece housing, which may be made of molded fiber-reinforced synthetic material, which is firmly connected with the base plate, more particularly, is connected therewith by bolts.
2. Description of Related Art
The known automobile door lock (U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,845), on which the invention is based, has a one-piece plastic body, made by an injection molding process, which is covered on the back side, facing away from the base plate, by a metallic cover plate. The body forths a central support wall which is provided with several openings, on one side of which the lock retainer, ratchet, and the pawl are disposed in corresponding recesses to form a catch element. On the other side of the body, there are bearing sleeves or pins which support a series of operating levers in a positionally correct manner. Individual operating levers, here, are made of molded plastic material. By tightening the back cover plate to the base plate, the plastic body disposed inbetween is fixed, and the lock elements contained therein, on one hand, and the operation levers of the lock mechanism, on the other hand, are adjusted so as to be positionally correct.